The last workshop of the summer brought folks out in full force. Yet another sunny day in Berkeley, we were 17 people with tons of ideas and inspiration. Shibori’s harder work than you bargain for sometimes, so we had a BBQ afterwards.

Shibori Gang!We used 100% organic indigo. Check out the copper flakes on blue in the vat.

Organic indigo is so beautiful when you form the vat. It takes a bit of patience to wait for the vat to be ready. But you can use that time to tie, clamp and resist your projects.

Mara was obsessed with a pair of pants she had that she wanted to recreate. We all tried to help deconstruct the pattern.And the reveal!

Everyone else created some really cool patterns as well.

Sloan and Kumi Shibori

Surrounded by indigo, not a bad thing.An amazing precise pattern by Kat.

Stay tuned for more workshops in the future. Email me at jenny(at)reluxia(dot)com for info. Shibori on.

Our July workshop was so much fun. Folks brought everything from hats to sheets to fabric to shoes. I’m doing another one on September 27th. If you’re interested, please email me at jenny(at)reluxia(dot)com.

Great group shot of almost everyone.Shibori takes a lot of planning and visualizing. Sometimes you have to sit and think for a bit….…other times it’s easier to talk it through.Once the ideas start flowing, there’s no stopping!Part of the fun is dipping your pieces to get a dark color. Hanging it up and watching it oxidize is part of the wait.But the most rewarding is seeing the final reveal of your design.No idea is too big or small.The grand finale! Check out all the designs everyone came up with. So many beautiful shades of indigo

I hope you’ve enjoyed these photos. I’ve held a couple more workshops this summer and will post those photos soon.

I’ve been increasingly interested in Natural Dyes these days. This week, I ran across this beautiful website called tinctory. Eva, a woman from the UK has a beautiful aesthetic with Natural Dyes. In the photo above, she’s dyed silks, cottons and wools. The grey fabric has been mordanted later with iron.

She uses her dyed fabric to create jewelry by smocking her swatches into little organic looking pendants.

Today I’m going on a hike, picnic and will hopefully harvest some Oak Galls. It’s gall hunting season! Stay tuned to see what I find.

Burberry Fall 2010
Have you ever played around on their site? The image you see moves in 3D if you wait long enough. Love the tonal colors and shearling mixed with leather. Great inspiration for the RELUX001 Vintage Army Jacket!

10/10/10 is the perfect ground zero date to start a journey in a new direction…I’ve finally settled into life here in the East Bay. It’s been the endless summer as we moved from Brooklyn to Oakland over the months of April to July. And now Indian summer’s hit in the middle of October. That’s 8 months of sunshine and warm weather.

Now that the dust has settled, I can start to post about an idea that’s been bubbling up for a while. I’ve been thinking about the ever changing role of fashion and what inspires me these days. I love new ideas I’ve found around upcycled fashion when paired with a non-profit cause. I’ve noticed several Australian designers who are donating their time and talent to raise money for non-profits. I think it’s fantastic.

I’m really curious to see how fashion for a cause + social media creates viral marketing and $$ for non-profits….stay tuned as Reluxia starts a journey in a new direction!!